Taste of Bucharest: Ateneul Român

The Romanian Athenaeum is a concert hall in the center of Bucureşti and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's main concert hall and home of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and of the George Enescu annual international music festival held each September that brings in the world's best classical musicians each year. The concert hall is cited in many books as having the best acoustics of any concert hall in Europe, and perhaps the world. I was in western Europe on a tour of another opera house once when they said that the Bucharest Ateneul has the best acoustics. I, of course, was quite proud! The building itself is stunning, especially the history of Romania, which is painted on the wall of the semi-rotunda in the main hall. By design, the concert hall does not seat that many people. The intention was to create a more intimate feeling where the sound would just vibrate. Tickets to see a performance are still pretty reasonable for the average Romanian ($5-$15) and music students get in free to all performances (if seats are available). It truly is a special place to see a performance.

Romania's famous composer George Enescu, famous for his Romanian rhapsody

The atrium





The main concert hall

Notice the "History of Romania Painting"

New to Bucharest

Burger King and Quiznos have opened in a new mall on the northern edge of the city

Flowers in Bucharest

We are enjoying nice spring weather in Bucharest, and after a lot of rain, everything is nice, lush, and green! Just take a look at some of the flowers in Cişmigiu Park in the city center:

Josh McDowell Conference

World-renowned Christian speaker/writer/evangelist Josh McDowell held a conference in Bucharest this weekend. He is known for writing such books as the national best-seller Why You Should Wait. On Saturday, we took our youth group to hear Josh McDowell speak at Sala Palatului (the very hall where the communists in Romania used to denounce the name of the Lord...what a blessing that now Christians hold conferences there) about "Sex: Myths and the Truth." It was very interesting. Josh McDowell is an engaging speaker with a somewhat "in-your-face" presentation (but effective). He has quite the testimony. He actually was writing a book to refute the claims of the Bible, and realized he couldn't. In the process, he ended up becoming a Christian. Here are some of the highlights of his speech:

• There are currently 39 STD's known in the world
• The newest discovered STD is called HPV (google it) and kills more people annually than HIV or AIDS. The virus HPV has been found in many cancer patients and is known to not show any symptoms for up to 8 years. Lots more I could say about this...but wow!
• When the U.S. government was reporting on the number of pregnancies women had, despite using a condom, they did NOT factor in the millions of abortions occurring in the U.S. annually. Why? The abortions were calculated as "success" stories for the effectiveness of condoms--since no baby was born (having been aborted), the abortions did not count as a condom deficiency. This has since been reversed, and the U.S. government has now required the condom companies to go back and recalculate, factoring in all of the abortions as far back as 1988.
• Josh McDowell reminded us how VERY few people realized when the condom companies switched their slogan from Safe Sex: Use a condom to SafER Sex: use a condom. Interesting isn't it? He said the companies were trying to save themselves from a lawsuit.
• Josh said the Center for Disease Control has confirmed that the reported 4-6 percent failure rate of condom use is a complete and utter fallacy---it is WAY higher (see above) ---especially in light of the new virus HPV that has been discovered---it is deadly and has no cure.
• The current Surgeon General of the United States has routinely called Josh McDowell and thanked him for preaching abstinence and has asked him to be even MORE direct

Anyway, it made for an interesting evening. Many, many non-Christians were in attendance--which was great! It is very rare for someone to talk about sex to Romanian youth, especially the Christian perspective. McDowell also engaged us in a dialogue about the definition of "love", saying that it is extremely rare for someone to be able to define it. He said 1 Corinthians 13 is not the definition of love, but the function of love, or rather, what love does (not what it is). According to McDowell, the clearest definition of love found in the Bible is Ephesians 5:29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the Church. McDowell states that in this verse we have hate and love juxtaposed, and that after the word "but", love is clearly defined. Love is nourishing and cherishing. McDowell would say that all of the Lord's commands center on these two principles. Because God is love, He protects and nourishes. Again, lots more I could say about this. Something to think about I guess. It was refreshing to hear a Biblical perspective and even better that many non-Christians were in attendance. Afterwards, a local music group "Proconsul" held a concert---many of their members are Christian.

Proconsul

Mentoring Future Romanian Missionaries

This past week I spoke about the importance of having a good mentor when preparing for the missions field to a group of young Romanians who are either in preparation to serve cross-culturally in missions, or at least are praying about it and seeking the Lord's guidance. I enjoy interacting with this group and offering what little I do know to help them in their pursuit of missions. It gives me "Holy Goosebumps" to see young Romanians mobilizing for missions. At times you have to look back and see how much the Lord moves--it wasn't long ago that secret churches were being held in the deep forests of Romania's Transylvanian region in order to escape persecution. And now, that underground church movement is already sending Romanians into the ends of the earth to preach the most important message of all time: the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Slavă Domnului (Praise the Lord)! I'm here to tell you that you really need to be praying for groups like these. I wholeheartedly think the youth of Romania have been blessed to be a blessing to others and that they have been given the awesome responsibility to respond to their calling to reach Europe for Christ. I will continue to meet with this group, study with them, answer their questions, and pray with them. Please pray for this group along with me!

Volleyball in the Park

On Saturday, our youth group went out in the park to play some volleyball, easily my favorite sport. It was a nice day and lots of fun. Plus, we had a good turnout.

We also sang some songs

Going for the block

Romanian TV coverage of Bush's arrival in Bucuresti

For those of you who like an international flavor...Romanian news coverage of President Bush's initial arrival. Later he went to the Black Sea to meet with Romanian President Traian Basescu and on their return, the more formal reception with soldiers was held.

NATO Summit in Bucureşti

This week Bucharest is hosting the NATO summit, meaning that over 26 foreign dignitaries have descended upon our city for important negotiations relating to the War on Terrorism, troops in Afghanistan, Visa issues, trade, and other pressing international issues. The summit is a big deal for Romania, as the government seeks to bring attention to this part of the world and demonstrate that Romania is more than capable of hosting an event of such stature. Security is extremely tight and traffic a nightmare (many of the main boulevards have been closed to traffic). All students have been dismissed from school and many businesses have given their workers the days off in hopes that people will leave the city, heading to the mountains or the Black Sea. President Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and many more are in Bucureşti this week. During the last visit of President Bush to Bucharest in 2002, he spoke before one of the largest international audiences of his presidency and while he spoke, a rainbow appeared over the square.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives and is greeted by Romanian President Trăian Băsescu
Air Force One
President Bush arrives with fanfare

And, of course, the TRAFFIC!

The Romanian Gypsies

Many of you have asked me about the gypsy minority in Romania. It is a large population in Romania, and I have read that even UNICEF says they have no idea how many gypsies are in Romania, because they often do not register with the government. A small gypsy home may have 10 people living it. They are a people group facing much oppression and prejudice in Romania, and conequently, there are very strong opinions about the gypsy minority in Romania. I just want to qualify it by stating that they too are God's children. Those that have reached out to the gypsy community will tell you that they certainly have their own values, ideals, culture, and worldview that often conflicts with ethnic Romanians. Gypsy churches often struggle with the tension of staying true to Biblical values and being Christ-centered, while still being culturally relevant to the gypsy community. I cannot totally describe the Gypsy/Roma minority to you here, but the following article is a good start:

( "Europe's Beggars: Romania's Roma" by Marius Dragomir. Central Europe Review <http://www.ce-review.org/00/41/dragomir41.html)

Romania has the largest Roma minority in Europe. According to the last official census, roughly two million Roma, representing ten percent of the population, are living in Romania today. They are considered to be "the most disruptive" minority; an opinion supported by statistics from the Romanian police that reveal a high proportion of crimes are committed by Roma.
Representatives of the Romanian Roma Party argue that this is due to the grim medieval poverty Roma face today. They also claim that Romanians are prejudiced, blaming the Roma minority for all the troubles in Romania. According to the Party, Romani people cannot work, even if they want to, because the Romanian employers are reluctant to hire them. Roma party leaders also complain about the indifference of the government and their lack of effort in securing the social integration of the Roma minority.

Facing cruel poverty (living in houses without electricity and running water), the Roma are trying to survive by begging in the street. In the past ten years, many have moved to Central Europe where they can earn more money from begging.

In turn, Romania has had to bear the prejudices of Central and Western European countries that associate Romania with beggars. Instead of working on the domestic economic situation which can change the standard of life for its people, the Romanian state has focused on improving "the image of the country abroad," by trying to keep its Roma at home, with the help of those Central European countries that have sent many of the Romanian Roma packing, declaring themselves "sick of Romanian Gypsies." It continues to be a pressing issue for Romania within the European Union community.

Some Roma are quite wealthy. This is an example of a "Roma mansion" with ornate roofs that you see often in Romania.

This IS Romania: loving the randomness

And you wonder why people make wrong turns or get confused!

Even the Romanian Orthodox Nuns like to go fishing

Gotta love the pig!

I hope this guy didn't pay for the parking spot

Look carefully....the workers are heating their sausages for lunch with a torch light

Happy Easter!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Or at least, those that follow the Catholic Easter. Here in Romania, Easter is still several weeks away, as we follow the Eastern Orthodox Calendar. Eastern Orthodox churches generally use the Julian calendar, while Roman Catholics and Protestants use the Gregorian calendar. Methods of calculating the date of Easter differ. Thus Easter is celebrated on the same day in Christianity only about once every three or four years. In other years, the Orthodox Easter -- called Pascha -- is delayed by one, four, or five weeks from the Roman Catholic/Protestant date. But for those of you in the West....Happy Easter! May the knowledge of our Lord Jesus' resurrection bring you peace and joy this Easter season and a reminder of how very much the world needs Jesus!

Missions Mobilization in Suceava, RO

This week I joined my colleagues in traveling to the northern Romanian city of Suceava (close to the Ukrainian border) to meet with members of the Brethren Church there who are doing incredible work in missions mobilization in their region of Romania. We had the privilege of participating in a prayer night with youth from various churches and cities who meet together for encouragement, prayer, and collaboration. We were all crowded into a living room, with many people in the hallways and other rooms. This is a group passionate about missions and bringing the Gospel to unreached areas of the world, as well as unreached cities and villages in Romania. We sang, we prayed, and heard more of their vision for the Suceava area. It was also an opportunity for me to get involved with the Kairos Program (a missions training program) that some of my colleagues have been teaching in churches around Romania. Most of this group in Suceava has been through the course and is now motivating and preparing other churches to play a greater role in the Great Commission. It was great to be encouraging a group of young Romanians on fire for the Gospel. We are praying for their efforts and continued passion to reach the world for Christ.

Vali with his daughter. He is the mission and youth coordinator for the Brethren Church in Suceava. He has helped form missions prayer/encouragement teams and he and his wife are hoping to serve cross-culturally as missionaries themselves. He often takes his youth in missions trips to villages in the Suceava region and into the Romanian speaking cities in Ukraine. He and his wife have a great heart for missions and are truly one of the "success stories" and shining examples in Romania of a church and region mobilizing its forces for missions.

Me with my colleague Adi (left), Linda (the Kairos European International Coordinator who joined us from England), and Russell together for dinner at Vali's house. It was a delicious meal!

I especially enjoyed dessert!

The Suceava region is known for fortresses and monasteries

Conference in Budapest, HU

This past week I attended a conference in Budapest, Hungary about foreign missions and second language acquisition. It was a good conference, full of material and resources that we hope to integrate into our work here in Romania. I met missionaries from all over the world and got to strategize with others working specifically in Eastern Europe. I really enjoyed the fellowship! We stayed at a hotel/dormitory on the outskirts of the city which provided some interesting experiences using public transport. Apparently in Budapest, bus routes are not only organized by numbers, but also by color. One night coming back to the conference center, I took the bus 40 only to realize I wasn't in Budapest anymore. I asked a girl on the bus in English "isn't this bus 40?" She said yes, but I need the yellow 40, not the red 40. Anyway, she was nice enough to get off the bus with me and walk me to where I could catch the bus I needed back into the city to get to where I was staying. It was an interesting experience, since it was late at night and I couldn't afford to take a taxi.

And as a true 'Romaniac', I got a few scowls from people on the street when I asked for directions in Romanian. I know I have fully become a Romanian when it doesn't dawn on me to ask in English--it was just natural to ask in Romanian. Anyway, if you know anything about Romanian -Hungarian relations....all I can tell you is that we don't get along--at all! That said, I must say that Budapest is a beautiful city and many travel books label it one of the world's most beautiful cities, for good reason. But the Hungarian language? Uffda! It's a beast and not too beautiful to the ears either. Yet as pretty as Budapest is, I am thankful to be living in Romania. And anyone who has visited Romania knows, it is an absolutely gorgeous country.!

The Buda Castle and chain bridge at night. Budapest was actually two cities Buda and Pest that combined.

A close up of my favorite bridge (the Chain Bridge) in Budapest

Hungarian Parliament at night, overlooking the Danube

Our hotel/dormitory where we held the conference

Romanian Art

Constantin Brâncuşi is a world renowned Romanian sculptor whose sculptures blend simplicity and sophistication that led the way for modernist sculptors. His works are housed in the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and in the National Museum of Art of Romania (Bucharest), as well as in other major museums around the world. The Philadelphia Museum of Art currently has the largest collection of Brancusi sculptures in the United States.
A reconstruction of Brancusi's onetime studio in Paris is open to the public. It is close to the Pompidou Centre, in the rue Rambuteau. He bequeathed part of his collection to the French state on condition that his workshop be rebuilt as it was on the day he died.
Brâncuşi was elected post-mortem to the Romanian Academy in 1990.
In 2002, a sculpture by Brâncuşi named "Danaide" sold for $18.1 million, the highest that a sculpture piece had ever sold for at auction. In May 2005, a piece from the "Bird in Space" series broke that record, selling for $27.5 million in a Christie's auction.

The Endless Column in Târgu Jiu, România

The Gate of the Kiss

The Table of Silence

Situation of Church Growth in Romania

The above diagram is an example of some of the incredible research that my colleague Russell Mitchell has done regarding the evangelical church growth (or lack thereof) of each county Romania. Recently, we mailed out a newsletter with detailed maps, charts, etc., to every evangelical church in Romania, showing areas with and without churches. In this newsletter, we challenged church leaders in Romania to not be satisfied with the status quo. After the fall of communism, there was significant church growth in Romania, but that has since leveled off. To this day, there exists 9,638 villages in Romania without a single evangelical church and 21 cities (with populations over 50,000) without churches. And Romania has one of the highest percentages of evangelical Christians in Europe! That, my friends, is just sad! Thus, we are tying to challenge every church in Romania to be thinking of ways that they can reach out to areas without churches in Romania. There is still so much unfinished work to do. Obviously, we need to be thinking creatively about new ways to do outreach, especially to the emerging generation. Old styles of evangelism and outreach have not always been effective. This is especially true in the urban areas of Romania, like Bucureşti. We are hoping to hold a forum soon with church leaders in Bucureşti to look at ways we can grow the Church in such a spiritually dark city. To this day, Bucureşti is still (a metro area of 2.5 million) less than 1 percent evangelical Christian. Compare that to the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area (where I grew up) that has a metro area of 3.5 million people and is roughly 50 percent evangelical Christian (according to Religion Information Resources). In Bucureşti, there are just 80 evangelical churches (the Twin Cities metro area has over 3000). What a need! As you look at the above chart, all the white areas (or suburbs of Bucureşti) have NO evangelical church---and this is the year 2008! Incredible.

Part of our duty at OC International is to challenge the Church. I see my ministry to youth and youth leaders having a direct correlation to church growth in Romania. One roadblock I see is the failure of the Church to reach out to the younger generation who sees the Church as old, obsolete, legalistic, and backwards. Thus, in connection with my colleagues, we look to be holding forums to address this issue as well. Perhaps by bringing attention to issues that hinder our growth, we can finally get over the hump and witness real, significant church growth throughout our beloved Romania. Please pray that the church leaders who look at the data will be challenged to actually do something and that this research would spur a revival. Pray also for our forums to be challenging and lead to brainstorming of real, practical solutions.